I highly recommend the Pirelli P7000 215/35/ZR18. I've been through lots of brands on my 17" wheels including the P-zeros which are pretty good imho but on the 18's the P7000's are superior to the 17" p-zeros in every way.

I can't think of any reason why you couldn't use these instead of the 225/35/18 p-zero. On anything up to a 7.5" rim they will sit fine on the wheels without the wheel overhanging and they are narrower which means less tramlining and definately no rubbing. I am extremely happy with these on mine and unless Mike has anything to add (mike.?), then I'd definately consider taking a look at these.

It's interesting that many presume the P-zero to be the flagship tyre when in Italy the P7000 is regarded as the super high performance tyre.

It definately should not be confused with the crap and completely crap P6000 and P5000, they are completely different tyres/design/compound!

Nito

 

Hiya doods!

I'm thinking about putting some bigger wheels on the scoob...and a mate of mine has a spare set of P1 18" wheels.

I seem to remember reading that Pirellis P-zero in 225/35x18 are the only tires that won't foul the rear arches...why is that?

S02-PP's would be alot nicer...and they are available in the same size.

Falken has a tire in that size as well.

Any knowledge on the subject?

Cheers

/Jerry

 

Jerry

The only tyres that we found that fitted are the 225/35ZR18 Pzero.
The Bridgestones have a very large kerbing rib and will not fit.
Don't be tempted to go for something else because it's cheap as it will end up costing you more in the long run!

Mike

 

Hiya Mike!

I'd prefer S02's, since the general feeling is that they're much better than the P-Zeros.
Fact is that the PZero's are abt the same price here...



It doesn't matter now really tho...since my mate sold the wheels recently...

/J

 

Jerry

I assume that you mean 'some people have found that they prefer S02 to PZero in 17"'
That doesn't mean that they are any better (or worse), just different. It also doesn't mean that you can apply the same rules to the 18" application. We found that the ride was dreadful using the SO2 in 18" on a P1 when compared to the PZero..

Mike

 

Nito

We tried the 215/40ZR17 P7000 some time ago and found that they gave similar characteristics to the S02. Good in the wet, but not so good in the dry as the tyre moved around much more than a PZero.
When used in the dry at Silverstone, wear was massively worse than a PZero (approx 4 times as much wear) and the ride was not as good, probably due to the lower profile.

That's why we stuck with the PZero.

Mike

 

Hehe,

I can well believe that on a track. The tread blocks are much bigger and taller than on the P-zero. On the road there doesn't seem to be much movement at all from the tyre, especially in 18" trim with 35 profiles .The P zero is very good for wear on the track. I run my 17's with them at 28psi and although the front left always takes a hammering it's only on the outer treadblock, they do stand up extremely well and although I usually pull the whole treadblock of the edge it's not really a treadblock as such there so it's perfectly driveable home!

I haven't tried the P7000's on track yet, not sure that I will either, 4 times the wear eh!! Although I think the car would be much better on these for handling than the 17" P-zeros except they'd probably go off quicker! Another observation is that in the Snow the P-zeros are absolutely lethal!

Nito

 

Nito

But how good are snow tyres on wet or dry tarmac

Mike

 

Mike, they really don't want to try those P-Zero's do they.

I've had the P-Zeros on my 18" rims now and I'm delighted with them. The tyre wear after 8,000 miles is minimal - I can't beleive it as they've been given some real stick. I live in Milton Keynes and this place kills tyres. Normally 7000 miles and they're nackered.

Also, with the 225 series P-Zero's I've not managed to kerb the rims yet, which is miraculous. Not sure a 215 series tyre would offer this protection. The P-zero's that come with the P1 18 inch wheels fit the rim so well, it almost looks like they were made for each other.

You really can't compare any 17" tyre with the 18" version of the P-Zero. The difference is amazing.

Regards
Kurt

PS, I found them OK in the snow. Maybe you're not giving it enough welly

 

Hangon,

You guy's with 18" Rims - What disk size are you running to warrant that kind of wheel !!(my extremely rough calculations indicate 355mm. Thats pretty blinkin big !!)

Funnily enough I'm looking into it at the moment as I'm pissed off with having 292mm Disks in 16" Rims. Did any of you guys try 17" Wheels and appropriate disks / calipers first or did you go straight to the 18"'s ?

I'm really interested, I don't want to waste money on 17" wheels / calipers / disks if you still get fade on track (after all it is expensive if you have to keep replacing pads / disks).

Comments ? (Please tell me 17" and 325mm Disks are OK !! I can't afford the really big brake upgrade)

Ps Mike I need to email you regarding vented disk upgrades for an MY98 (have been told PD did one), Hope you don't mind but Subaru IM have been completely useless and I need a part no. Will email you tommorrow.

 

Gary,
I use 330mm discs which fit under 17" wheels or bigger..except the speedline supertourismos as the spoke design won't clear the calipers! Many people go for the 305mm such as the scoobysport and scoobymania ones so that they can run 16" tyres on track which are obviously cheaper than the 17's or 18's!

Mr.Data,
No need to convert me, I think the P-zeros are great. I've just been left quite impressed by the P7000's. In 18" they are far better than the p-zero 17" but like you say it's not fair to compare them in different rim sizes. On the track I always use the P-zero 17's!

As for snow..I'm talking about proper snow that's more than a couple of mm deep! I was working in Italy and we had some deep snow, the car AWD and all was dreadful, the shallow tread pattern of the P-zero clogged up with snow straight away which then compacted and frooze up, the slightest application of the throttle had it slewing diagonally into the other side of the road. I'm sure in these conditions the P7000 would be better with the deeper tread pattern! As for the ABS..I won't even go into that!!

Mike, I made that observation for Jerry's benefit as it snows much more often where he is! But my mate has a cossie who runs snow tyres on dry track and he reckons.....slides more....wicked...loose car...etc

Nito
ps. Mike, ever done any testing with road legal slick type tyres like the Yokohama A038R (like the lotus 340R uses)or similar, as I don't fancy using full slicks on my car
and the Pirellis get expensive on track days and I have to keep coming in after every 5 laps or so!

 

Nito

Get some well worn 225/35ZR18 Pzeros and they are effectively the same thing.
One set did 2 days at Donington and were still legal to drive home. Needless to say I was not hanging around!

Mike